What is the Court of Protection?

When a loved one does not have mental capacity, as a result of an illness or accident, it can be an extremely daunting time for families. Who will manage their financial and property affairs, matters relating to their health and welfare, what is a deputy, is a statutory will required?

Brain Injury Group exists to assist people with matters such as these, releasing their time to spend with their loved ones rather than untangling legal matters.

People keep talking about the Court of Protection and Deputies, but what is it and who are they?

The Court of Protection makes decisions and appoints representatives (known as Deputies) to act on behalf of people who are unable to make decisions for themselves about their finances, property and personal welfare. It follows rules set out in the Mental Capacity Act and has the power to appoint a Deputy to look after a person’s money and assets (known as property and affairs) or to make decisions about their care (known as Health and Welfare).

Effectively the Deputy steps into the shoes of the person who lacks capacity, to take decisions on their behalf. One of the key principles of being a deputy is that they must always act in the best interests of the person they are making a decision for, even if that goes against their own personal views, preferences and prejudices.

How do I choose a Deputy?

You can ask the Court of Protection to appoint either a professional deputy – such as a solicitor – or a lay deputy. A lay deputy is generally a family member who is comfortable with taking important decisions and has the time to devote to this important role.

A professional Property and Affairs deputy is more often chosen where someone has an acquired brain injury because of their expertise in dealing with such cases, especially if there is a claim for damages, which could be quite significant, leading to complex financial matters to be managed.

How can Brain Injury Group help?

Among our membership, we have a number of individuals who regularly act as professional deputies, to people with acquired brain injuries and manage their day to day financial affairs.

In addition, our member firms have the expertise to assist with:

Application Services – for those who wish to apply to be a Deputy, our members can help to prepare the application forms and deal with the application on your behalf.
Ad hoc advice – if you are a Deputy, and need help with annual returns, complying with other Court obligations or any other matters arising, please speak to us.
Court applications – our members can also act in contested applications to the Court of Protection, assisting in objecting to other applications that are being made, contested proceedings and ongoing Court of Protection matters.
Best interests and deprivation of liberty – Brain Injury Group members have the expertise to assist clients in relation to identifying whether a particular course of action is regarded to be in a client’s best interests and applications under the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards.

What is the Brain Injury Group?

The Brain Injury Group exists to support individuals and families affected by brain injury and the health and social care professionals working in this specialist field. Our mission is to provide anyone affected by brain injury with access to advice on legal, financial and welfare benefit issues delivered by proven experts in the field who have been chosen not only for their skills and knowledge, but also for their passion and dedication to helping people.